


Guidance

by gh0steses



Category: Persona 5
Genre: he doesnt look like a ren and im calling him akira until i die, i love the bird man okay, ryuji doesnt get to say fuck. yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 05:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13734204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0steses/pseuds/gh0steses
Summary: "Do not presume you can get away with hiding the truth from me. You can lie to anyone you so please, but you cannot lie to yourself.”





	Guidance

**Author's Note:**

> it is 2:55 in the morning and I wrote this for the past few hours instead of sleeping  
> it's. Subpar At Best. pretty all over the place. I don't remember like half of Kamoshida's palace by now don't hold it against me

_ “Do you mind?” _

Akira almost has a heart attack from the unfamiliar presence, sitting upright in his bed and depositing a disgruntled Morgana in his lap. He could've sworn he heard a voice, but it felt more akin to something whispering directly into his brain. “Do I mind w-”

_ “Not out  _ **_loud_ ** _ , fool. Your thoughts do well enough. And you're making quite the fuss. I do hope you don't plan on going back to the Palace in such a state as this.” _

True, he'd be in no shape to go into the Metaverse running on no sleep, but the anxiety the kept him up couldn't be helped. There's a small, persistent feeling of annoyance that isn't quite  _ his _ nagging at the back of his mind, and it causes his racing mind to settle on who exactly is talking to him.  _ “Arsene?” _

Morgana stands in Akira’s lap, reaching up to put a paw on his face. “Hey. Back to bed, you. We have a lot ahead of us tomorrow and we need you at the top of your game.”

_ “He’s right, you know.” _

Akira huffs a frustrated sigh, laying back down. Mona was bad enough; he didn't need  _ himself _ telling him to go to bed too. Turning around twice on Akira’s chest before laying down, Morgana curls up into a ball and is out like a light. He's almost envious. It takes about five minutes for Arsene to speak up again. 

_ “You still aren't asleep. Why.” _

It's not something Akira’s willing to say up front, but he's talking to something that can basically peer into his thoughts. 

Arsene, however, beats him to the punch.  _ “You are worried about tomorrow, correct?” _

_ “Maybe.” _

_ “Why is that?” _

_ “Shouldn't you already know?” _

A disembodied, frustrated sigh. Akira can imagine Arsene pinching where the bridge of his nose would be on his angular face.  _ “I can only do so much, boy.” _

A frown settles on Akira’s face. Even if Arsene’s part of him, this isn't something he’s willing to discuss.  _ “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.” _

_ “We both know that is a bold faced lie.” _

There doesn't seem to be a way around this. Even if he fell asleep, there's no telling whether or not he’d wake up in his jail cell and Arsene would chew him out in corporeal form for so rudely sleeping on him. It’s all lose-lose in Akira’s mind.  _ “I'm not sure I'm cut out for all this… Leader stuff.” _

Silence for a moment.  _ “What other choice do we have? You'll do well once you're more experienced.”  _ When it doesn't look like Akira’s going to respond, he goes on.  _ “Listen to me. Your heart is in the right place. You wish to help people in need, do you not?” _

_ “I don't see where you're going with this.” _ Less truth and more evasion of a real, substantial answer. Morgana’s paws twitch as he sleeps on Akira’s chest and he chitters at something in his dream. 

The feeling of annoyance returns; Akira hadn't even noticed it was gone.  _ “Do not presume you can get away with hiding the truth from me. You can lie to anyone you so please, but you cannot lie to yourself.” _

_ “...Fine. I do.” _ Immobilized by a sleeping cat, Akira can only really look around. He settles for staring out the window at the rest of Yongen. Counting the street lights and craning his neck to try and spot the moon. 

_ “Take that drive and bring it to fruition, then. Think about all of Kamoshida’s victims. He broke Ryuji’s  _ **_leg_ ** _ , for the love of--” _

_ “That's not it.” _

_ “What is ‘ _ **_it,_ ** _ ’ then?” _

Despite the unease the subject brings, Akira takes his Persona’s prior point to heart.  _ “I don't get why I'm in charge. Morgana knows more than I do about all of this.”  _

_ “Forget the cat. We need a strong leader if we are to be successful.” _ After a second, Arsene reluctantly adds,  _ “I am confident that you are capable of this.” _

Akira groans internally.  _ “You too? Talk about high hopes all around…” _ It was, in a way, reassuring to hear that from his other self. In another way, it was completely terrifying, since it seems Arsene has higher expectations for him than he has for himself. 

_ “Do you require my assistance?” _

Again, Arsene hasn't left him an easy out. Talking to yourself is difficult.  _ “I don't  _ **_require_ ** _ anything--” _

_ “Those semantics are beside the point, Akira.” _

_ “Go for it.” _

A disembodied laugh resounds and Morgana stirs, indicating that Akira likely isn't the only one who heard.  _ “We shall see how you truly measure up tomorrow, then _ .”

-

Ryuji isn't waiting in his typical place by the stairwell after class. Instead, Akira finds him waiting for him at the school gate. “I almost thought you skipped today. You could've  _ said _ something.”

“Hell no, I wouldn't skip on a day like this!” Ryuji says louder than he means, standing from where he was leaning against the gate. “We’re goin’ in today, right?”

“That's the plan,” Morgana says, turning in Akira’s bag to peer over his shoulder while he takes out his phone and opens the Nav. “You sure you're ready?” 

Ryuji scoffs, rolling his eyes. “More ready than you, you mangy son of a-”

Reality warps and sways around them, until they're standing in front of a castle rather than their school and they're donning their thief attire. 

_ “Realize that I will not be holding your hand through this.” _ Arsene sounds more grave than last night. 

“It’s all on you, Joker,” Morgana says from below. “Make sure Skull doesn't try anything dumb.”

“Can it, cat!” Ryuji brandishes his pipe vaguely in Morgana’s direction, scowl made more intimidating by the metal skull affixed to his face. 

“For the last time, I'm  _ not _ a  _ cat _ !”

_ “Are you going to let them squabble senselessly? Look, the stage is all set for you. The sooner this show is over, the better, yes?” _

Placing a hand on Ryuji’s shoulder, Akira curtails their argument. “We don't have time for this. Let's get going.” It should be less of a surprise than it is to Akira when his teammates nod, expressions now serious as they follow him into the Palace. 

Security hadn't been raised in the hallways they'd been through prior, seeming as if Kamoshida had no clue they'd made any leeway into his mental sanctuary. A few stray Shadows pose no real threat as they move farther in. It dawns on Akira that it isn't as difficult as he'd hyped it up to be about halfway to where they'd left off yesterday. Arsene had given him minimal advice, mostly on being vigilant for Shadows and keeping Ryuji and Morgana from fighting and attracting unwanted attention. 

After a long silence, a bored and haughty sounding Arsene interjects.  _ “Would it kill you to stand up straight? Your posture is abominable.” _

_ “Not sure what that has to do with anything.” _ Akira takes the advice anyway, paying more attention to how he's standing. More than anything, it just sounded like an excuse to nitpick in the absence of more pressing guidance. 

_ “It does help. And you won't embarrass me.” _

Of course that's what he’s worried about, Akira thinks to himself, hoping Arsene doesn't pick up on it. Shadows become more plentiful as they press on, and, aside from keeping Ryuji from rushing in head on, things go more smoothly than Akira had expected. Battle, he finds, is easier than it seems. Arsene's judgemental eye on everything also seems to help; an audience makes it feel like there's more to prove, especially when that audience is your own critical self. 

_ “Did I not tell you you were a natural?” _

_ “Maybe not  _ **_exactly_ ** _ like that.” _ Akira can't keep from snickering to himself as they leave behind the Pixie they’d held up to find a new lead on where Kamoshida’s treasure might be. 

_ “Save that cockiness for when you have more skill to back it up. It could very well bring you to ruin.” _ Ominous, especially coming from a giant bird demon. Then again, that's just Arsene; as extra as always, like his user. 

Before too much longer, Ryuji taps out. They’d hit a wall, anyway, and needed time to regroup. After backtracking to the last safe room, Ryuji lays across the table without regard to the fact that there are various other pieces of furniture in the room. He slides his mask off to rub his eyes. “Gimme like… 5 minutes. I'm  _ exhausted _ .” 

“If you fall asleep, we're gonna leave you,” Akira says sarcastically, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. 

_ “That's rude.” _

_ “It's… it's a joke, Arsene.” _

“Don't kid like that, man…” Ryuji half whines, sitting up. “How far’d we get, Mona?” 

Morgana hums from the back of the chair he’d settled on. “I'd say almost halfway. We don't have a whole lot more to do, but don't expect it to be any easier from here on out.” He’s too proud to admit it, but he's worn out as well. “We really could do with another teammate.” 

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Akira says with a shrug, opening the door and gesturing for Ryuji and Mona to follow. 

When they at last reach the entrance, Akira’s mask bursts into blue flame of its own accord, causing Arsene to materialize in front of them. Akira realizes a little too late and ends up walking right into his knee. Ryuji laughs for a moment as Akira backs up, rubbing his forehead. Arsene’s legs are harder than he would've assumed, apparently. “So?”

“That was… acceptable,” Arsene says, placing a clawed hand on Akira’s head, something close to a smile flickering on what could loosely be described as his face. “We shall see how your potential further grows.” Placing his hand on his face with a dramatic flourish, he dissolves into blue flame, reappearing on Akira’s face.

It takes Ryuji pointing out the the fact that he looks like a kid for Akira to realize he’s smiling. “Hey, if your Persona was as uptight as he is, you'd be happy too. Like, damn, you wouldn't  _ believe _ \--”

“I  _ can _ hear you, you know,” Arsene’s voice resounds from no discernible location, as if carried by the wind, making Ryuji jump and hurriedly glance over his shoulder as if expecting Arsene to be standing behind them. At this Arsene crows a laugh; Akira can feel a semblance of delight in Arsene’s little corner of his mind and can't help but laugh as well. 

“Dude, come  _ on _ ,” Akira says, gesturing to the mask still on his face. “Looks like you're more scared of him than Kamoshida.” 

“Of course I'm more scared of a fifteen effin’ foot tall  _ bird _ than our damn gym teacher!” Ryuji retorts, jabbing Akira’s side with his pipe. “You're not gonna let me live this down, are ya?” he says with a groan, shaking his head. 

“Never,” Akira replies with a sly grin, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. 

Morgana clears his throat, prompting both boys to look down at him. “We were leaving?” He impatiently taps his paw, looking expectantly at Akira. Fishing his phone from his pocket, he starts up the Nav.

“Yo, Joker, what do you say we go get some ramen when we’re outta here?” Ryuji asks, placing an arm on Akira's shoulder and leaning against him. 

“You don't have any money, huh?” Akira cocks his head to look at his friend. Sojiro might get on his case for being late, but if they were fast about it he might be alright.

“Nooo…” Ryuji mumbles guiltily over the Nav’s thank-you message. 

“Just keep it quick,” Akira says, elbowing Ryuji in the side as they're taken back to reality. 


End file.
